The day he was set to face trial, a Williamsport man accused of failing to deliver more than $7,000 worth of T-shirts to the Lycoming County 9/11 Memorial Coalition pleaded no contest to a downgraded misdemeanor count of theft by deception in the courtroom of Lycoming County Judge William Carlucci on Thursday morning.

Michael Allen Ritter, 36, of 26 E. Village Drive, was charged with theft by deception and deceptive business practices in September 2023 after he failed to deliver 500 T-shirts and $300-worth of decals to have been created for the annual ride that honors those killed in the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

On May 28, 2024, the coalition contracted with Ritter, the owner of Mike’s Custom Apparel, for the creation of the shirts at a cost of $7,456 in the form of a check, with an expected delivery date of Aug. 1, otherwise a refund would be provided — no questions asked, per a written agreement, First Assistant District Attorney Martin Wade said.

The check was deposited into Ritter’s business account on May 30, which at the time had a negative balance, bank records showed, according to Wade.

Over the course of two months, Ritter made numerous false representations to members of the coalition, many through texting and Facebook Messenger, indicating the order was proceeding, Wade told Carlucci. At one point, Ritter stated that all but 48 shirts had been completed.

When communication ceased, Ritter stated that his cell phone and Facebook had been “hacked,” a claim Wade said was refuted by cell phone records.

When the delivery date came and went without the products being supplied, and Ritter made no effort to refund the money by Aug. 20, coalition co-founder Thomas “Tank” Baird contacted police.

Despite Ritter’s previous assertions that some shirts had been finished, none were found during a police-executed search warrant, Wade said.

“The defendant took the job knowing his operation was too small to complete the order,” Wade said, noting that previous jobs taken on by Ritter were much smaller in scale than the coalition’s needs.

“He was in desperate need of funds,” Wade said, stressing that much of the money paid by the coalition was used for food, entertainment and other personal needs.

The coalition was ultimately able to contract through a different company that delivered the shirts in only three weeks at a lower price, he said.

Due to the added financial stresses caused by Ritter’s actions, for the first time in 23 years, the coalition was forced to make a public appeal for donations.

Riders are not charged an entry fee, with the coalition’s main fundraising coming through the sale of apparel and merchandise the day of the ride.

“This situation was completely preventable,” Wade said, calling the decision to work out a plea agreement a difficult one.

“A harsher punishment is certainly deserved, however receiving the full restitution up front was the main concern of the coalition members,” he said.

“He has a permanent conviction. This is justice,” Wade said, adding that the deal will help to protect the community and future employees from going down the same road.

It costs an estimated $10,000 to put on the annual event, which has had upwards of 8,000 motorcycles participating, Baird said during his impact statement.

“The money we make on that date helps fund next year’s ride. If we don’t make it, it doesn’t happen,” he said.

Though he referred to the public appeal as “distasteful,” Baird said it did well and that the public responded to the need.

During Baird’s statement, defense attorney Kyle Rude put on record that Baird previously testified at Ritter’s preliminary hearing that Ritter had attempted to return the money.

Though he said he was grateful for the explanation of the inner workings of the ride, it was unneeded, Carlucci said, noting that he owns a Honda 750 Nighthawk, but has never participated as a rider.

As a lifetime member of the Loyalsock Volunteer Fire Company No. 1, Carlucci takes part in directing traffic as the riders pass through the township, he said.

“I’m in a position to count the bikes if I wanted to,” he joked.

“The fact of the matter is that this was despicable,” Carlucci said. “The coalition had really a choice to make between recovering the money or to essentially get even. I believe they made the right decision.”

“The public view seems to be in favor of incarceration. In my opinion, that is the wrong view,” he said. “What we should be focused on is what we can do to make the victim whole and to prevent recurrence.”

In exchange for the plea, Ritter was sentenced to one year of probation, with an additional count of theft by deception and a count of deceptive business practices dismissed.

Charges filed against Ritter for his alleged failure to honor a contract to deliver 89 T-shirts to the Clinton Township Volunteer Fire Company for $1,314 last summer were also dismissed Thursday by the Lycoming County District Attorney’s office after it came to light that Ritter had returned the funds to the department prior to the filing of the charges, Rude said in an email to the Sun-Gazette.

Police were not made aware of the payment before they filed the charges, Rude said in the email.